


Excuse Me For Falling in Love With You

by ohjustpeachy



Series: Things They Say When... [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 22:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19282819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustpeachy/pseuds/ohjustpeachy
Summary: Tony finds an old photo album while he's cleaning out his room. He and Steve look through it together.





	Excuse Me For Falling in Love With You

It happens by accident. Tony comes across an ancient photo album while clearing out some closet and drawer space for Steve. He was only moving up a few floors, but it still feels like a big step, and Tony is thinking fondly about how far they’ve come when Steve comes in. He sees the album sitting on the floor and asks to look through it together.

Tony hadn’t so much as cracked the dusty book open. Had in fact, been planning on sticking it in a drawer and forgetting about it for another twenty years, if he was being honest. But neither of them had much tangible history. All of Steve’s memories were lost to a world that no longer existed, and Tony would just rather keep certain things behind him where they belonged. But Steve’s eyes are hopeful, and Tony knows there are a few familiar faces he’s hoping to see in its pages, so he nods. 

It wasn’t so bad, really. They sit together on the bed, album open across their laps, and together they pore through old Stark family photos. There are plenty of Maria with Tony as a baby, toothless and curious; a few of Howard and Tony; no shortage of Howard and Maria smiling stiffly, dressed to the nines at galas and press events. More than anything, though, the album is a time capsule of Tony’s youth. 

“ _ Look _ at you!” Steve crows at one point, nearly grabbing the book from Tony’s hands in an attempt to take a closer look at a particularly adorable picture of Tony as a toddler. He was at a park and could only have been four or five, smile bright and curls askew. “Your hair still kinda looks like that,” Steve teases him, running a hand through curls that had become, somehow, messier with age. 

They keep going, Steve reaching down and taking Tony’s hand in his when they get to an uncomfortable photo of Howard and Tony at Tony’s high school graduation, squeezing it gently in silent acknowledgment. Tony smiles and squeezes back. 

When they turn the next page, Tony freezes. There’s a polaroid stuck in haphazardly. It’s Tony as a kid, decked out in a Captain America t-shirt and matching baseball cap. If you knew to look for it and squinted, his Cap poster was a blur in the background. He cringes, wondering if there was  _ any _ chance Steve wouldn’t notice. As it is, everyone jokes about Tony’s childhood obsession with Captain America, but until now there had never been evidence that they were actually  _ right. _

“Wait… is that—” Steve starts to ask.

“No. Nope. Turn the page,” Tony interrupts. 

“It  _ is! _ Tony!” Steve’s eyes light up when he realizes what he’s looking at, a light flush blooming on his cheeks. “Aw, Tony Stark was a Captain America fan back then?” Steve looks way too pleased by this information, and really, Tony had just been trying to Maria Kondo some of his shit, not deal with this. This was  _ not _ sparking joy. 

“Alright, okay, I was. But it was hard not to be when your father is basically president of the fanclub and dedicating all his time to finding you…” Tony mutters. 

“ _ Was?”  _ Steve says, innocently.

“You’re a menace,” Tony mutters, flustered. “ _ Am _ . My younger self had great taste, and I didn’t even know Steve Rogers then.”

“I bet we could find you a hat like that,” Steve laughs. “I might have a similar shirt somewhere,” he adds, thoughtfully, poking Tony in the side.

“Are you laughing at a child’s crush on a superhero, Steven? I thought Captain America had a stronger moral compass than this,” Tony says, faux horror on his face. “Excuse  _ me _ for falling in love with you.”

Steve laughs again, shifting them on the bed so they’re sitting face to face, Tony nearly in Steve’s lap. 

“It’s  _ cute,”  _ Steve says, leaning in for a kiss. “And I love you, too.”

When Steve moves up to the penthouse the next day, the picture is in a frame, sitting inside a well-loved, child-sized Captain America baseball cap. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi! I'm omg-just-peachy on Tumblr!


End file.
